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Sunday, February 9, 2014

Raspberry and Cream Macarons

I'm sleepy and want to take a nap, but I promised myself I would post today. So I will. I was home, which means I made macarons. Naturally. I've had a bag of freeze dried raspberries hanging around for a while, and so I ground them up and mixed them into the batter. It wasn't my most beautiful batch (they had little peaks from being undermixed) but they were successful in my eyes.

I did some creative writing in January and wrote a short piece about macarons. Sort of. It's more like a daydream that drifts...but it starts with macarons. I'll share an excerpt with you, yeah? Hope you like it.

"You cannot make macarons if you
are upset. You’ve tried, usually in the midst of some form of lovesickness. Your
emotions are somehow infused into the meringue and the cookies fall, flat and
cracked. You might cry a little bit out of frustration. Almond flour is
expensive and macarons take time. Some say too much time. That it’s not worth
the effort. Think of how many cupcakes you could make in the time it takes to
bake and assemble twenty fussy macarons. Sometimes you’re inclined to agree.
Especially when you’re sitting in front of the oven door, heart sinking when
the shells collapse into ugly piles. But when they turn out–oh, how they shine
like jewels! Ephemera. A bite of air, the sensation of something, there,
melting on the tongue. Then gone".

Sift almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and raspberry powder together. Set aside. Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Now dump in the dry ingredients all at once and fold them in with a
rubber spatula. Use both a folding motion (to incorporate the dry
ingredients) and a rubbing/smearing motion, to deflate the meringue
against the side of the bowl. It should take 35-40 strokes to reach the desired consistency. It should be almost like lava, holding its form if you put a little on a plate, but melting down after 20-30 seconds. Pipe batter onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets in 1 1/2 inch circles. Leave enough space between them so they don't melt together. Let them rest for 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 300F. Bake macarons for about 15 minutes. The shells are done when you can peel them away from the parchment without anything sticking. If you try and pick one up and the top rips off...cook them more. Cool completely and then put filling between two shells.